Deputy Venegas Responds to Kast’s Claims Against Casen Survey: ‘This Pattern Mirrors Authoritarian Governments Like Orbán in Hungary or Trump in the U.S.’

Original article: Diputado Venegas por dichos de Kast contra Encuesta Casen: «Es el mismo patrón que siguieron gobiernos autoritarios como el de Orbán en Hungría o Trump en EEUU»

The statements made by President José A. Kast continue to cause a stir, as he dismissed the latest results from the Casen survey, which indicate a 3.2% decrease in the poverty rate for 2024 compared to 2022, bringing it down to 17.3%.

In an interview with T13 Radio, Kast claimed, «we were told in the previous Casen that poverty had decreased and that the formula was through subsidies,» but he added that «through Minister Jorge Quiroz, it was clarified that there had been an error in the measurement and that the numbers presented did not correspond to reality.»

«When the former Minister of Social Development suggests that Chile had been a model for how to do things, that clearly was not the case,» the President further commented, downplaying the reduction indicated by Casen in the poverty index.

Reactions came swiftly, with one of the first being from former Social Development Minister Giorgio Jackson, who labeled the President’s statement as «serious and irresponsible,» arguing it undermines all the institutions involved in the survey since 1990, including the numerous technical panels that have supported the ongoing improvement of its methodologies.

«It is harmful that President José Antonio Kast is spreading falsehoods,» Jackson stated. «We are talking about someone who is no longer a candidate and is now in charge of such an important and widely validated tool as the Casen survey,» he added.

«It is very grave for the President of the Republic to fall into data denialism and to affirm disinformation without any argument, damaging our institutions,» Jackson insisted.

Meanwhile, from Congress, Deputy Nelson Venegas (PS) directed attention to a significant point: «Kast’s questioning of the Casen and his attempt to install doubts about official data is not coincidental. This follows the same pattern established by authoritarian governments like Orbán in Hungary or Trump in the U.S.,» stated the legislator.

«First, they discredit institutions, then they seek to control them. We will not allow a copy of this playbook in Chile,» Venegas expressed.

We will continue to provide updates.